Can you help me spec a build for everyday use?

CakeButton

CakeButton

CakeButton

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30 Apr 2011
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Hey OCers


I came across this site & forum after researching etc and it's great, but I'm still confused on what's best for me so I'm hoping somebody can help me.

I'm not much of a gamer, I play a couple of games every now and again, nothing hardcore but i'd like a build that's easily upgradable in the future if I ever decide to do any hardcore gaming.

My general usage right now is movies, music, browsing and light gaming.

I have monitors, mouse, headphones etc.

I need OS + base *Edit: Backlit keyboard

Budget is around £400-£500.


If i've missed anything let me know,

Ty
 
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Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
(£74.99) £89.99
(£74.99)
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5830 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £76.79
(£63.99) £76.79
(£63.99)
Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
(£57.00) £68.40
(£57.00)
Options applied to the above product:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition Power Supply £65.99
(£54.99) £65.99
(£54.99)
Asus P8H61-M Intel H61 Chipset (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION** £61.99
(£51.66) £61.99
(£51.66)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Sony Optiarc AD-5260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
(£13.32) £15.98
(£13.32)
Sub Total : £410.08
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £84.77
Total : £508.60

The 650w psu will allow to upgrade the gpu in future if you turn into a hardcore gamer :)

edit: if u want to come in under budget u could downgrade the graphics card to a HIS ATI Radeon HD 5670 1024MB for £64.99, making the total cost £496.80 but the 5830 really is excellent value for money.
 
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this is my 'top end spec' getting you a sandybridge dual core processor (which is better than the AMD quad core by quite a way) and some decent graphics that should do some mid-high end gaming


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5830 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £76.79
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £32.99
1 x Asus P8H61-M Intel H61 Chipset (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION** £61.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98
1 x Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £39.98
1 x G.Skill RipJawsX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL) £35.99
1 x Logitech K300 Compact Keyboard (920-001488) £17.99
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.59
Total : £499.19 (includes shipping : £13.75).

only thing i have literally no idea about is the keyboard. i just went with the cheapest thing that said backlit




this is my 'bottom end spec'

it really wont do gaming with the onboard graphics, but it will be just fine for general work. processor has been downgraded to an AMD tri core (i3 2100 is WAY better than even the Phenom II 975 BE.

it comes below your £400 figure, so feel free to add a little bit on to this (bigger processor would be the best thing)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £32.99
1 x AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 445 3.10GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £56.99
1 x Asus M4A78LT-M 760G (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £45.60
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98
1 x Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £39.98
1 x G.Skill RipJawsX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL) £35.99
1 x Logitech K300 Compact Keyboard (920-001488) £17.99
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.59
Total : £373.01 (includes shipping : £13.75).
 
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Reaper 392 said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5830 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £76.79
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £32.99
1 x Asus P8H61-M Intel H61 Chipset (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION** £61.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98
1 x Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £39.98
1 x G.Skill RipJawsX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL) £35.99
1 x Logitech K300 Compact Keyboard (920-001488) £17.99
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.59
Total : £499.19 (includes shipping : £13.75).
Click to expand...

If you really think you might do hardcore gaming in the future it might be worth adding a Mobo that can do crossfire so you can add another 5830 at a later date?

Something like this for example? It wouldn't bring your budget up too much although you may need to up the PSU.

No idea how good that board actually is, its just an example of a cheap sandybridge one that can do crossfire ;) Maybe someone else can spec a better one
 
Slightly over-budget here, but it's a decent rig :) Lots of room for upgrades in the future as you have a decent PSU plus the motherboard supports Crossfire, and it will overclock great should you wish to upgrade to an i5 one day.

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@ andy_mk3 or anybody that can answer for him

I will go with this build and just go straight for the i5 2500k, seems to get a lot of praise and I don't want to feel like I'm missing out. :D

Will the gfx card fit in the case? I've read the reviews and it's meant to be a big/long card.

If I OC it in the future will I need to buy a better fan?
 
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